Chapter 417: Bidding Higher

When collecting fruits of natural treasures, could you slow down their fall so you could grab them before they hit the ground? No problem.

In battle, when the opponent already knew your bloodline ability, you suddenly displayed the time control of a second-tier bloodline. How many times would the opponent die before they even realized it?

With the Bloodline Array Disc’s first appearance, it was destined to make a dazzling debut. The Aetherhorn Merchant Association recognized this and didn't hesitate to offer the Chrono Croc blood to the Array Master, hoping for the debut of this disc.

The auctioneer didn’t mention the origin of this array disc but simply said the Aetherhorn Merchant Association provided it. So, through the auction of this disc, how much would the Aetherhorn Merchant Association’s influence in high society increase? Moreover, it had the Stone of Shelter and the Sunborne Flower to increase anticipation before its launch! This series of maneuvers even made Tang San feel a sense of admiration for the Aetherhorn Merchant Association. He couldn’t imagine how they managed such an impressive arrangement just to launch that array disc. As far as he knew, the Aetherhorn Merchant Association didn’t have the support of any emperors, only the Peacock Demon Clan.

"Eight thousand!" As Tang San was thinking to himself that things were going quite well, the bidding price had already risen to eight thousand naturae coins.

Eight thousand naturae coins—in previous auctions, ordinary divine artifacts had reached this price.

Rarity is value, especially with an item that grants time control abilities.

Could it exceed ten thousand?

The answer was yes!

In less than five minutes, the price of the Chrono Array Disc had already broken through ten thousand naturae coins.

Zhang Haoxuan’s voice trembled as it came through.

—You’ve struck it rich, Little Tang, you’re rich now!

"Master, stay calm. This is a one-off," said Tang San. When he created the Chrono Array Disc, he had already decided it would be unique. Only a unique item holds the greatest value. Moreover, he needed the remaining Chrono Croc blood for Gu Li’s purification and cultivation.

Of course, if the Aetherhorn Merchant Association could provide him with god-level Chrono Croc blood, that would be a different story. But creating a god-level Chrono Croc Array Disc would have to wait until he reaches godhood. Right now, that was still far off.

For this ninth-order Chrono Croc Array disc, Tang San even used a bit of his divine consciousness. Without it, he couldn’t complete some critical array integrations. Despite its small size, the disc actually contained thirty-six arrays. Only by fully integrating these arrays did it achieve its current effect. Among them, nine arrays were just for preventing the core from being decrypted. Any probing attempt would trigger self-destruction.

However, the subsequent bidding price far exceeded Tang San’s expectations.

Bidding Room 116.

This cave was much more spacious than Tang San’s own bidding room. The interior was in fact a full-on suite. At this moment, two Aetherhorn Deer Demons sat inside the suite; one was Xu Ziran, whom Tang San recognized. The other was an elderly man.

"Young Master, this is quite a grand move on your part! Hahaha," the elderly man said with a low laugh, addressing Xu Ziran.

Xu Ziran smiled slightly and said, "If we don't take this opportunity to rip them off, offering up such a good item would be a waste. This time, we’ll see if it’s the Skyway Merchant Association that gets hurt or the Chrono Croc lineage that bleeds. Keep bidding. Raise it to twenty."

"Alright." The elderly man operated the crystal ball before him, raising the bid again.

Xu Ziran said calmly, "According to our evaluation, the array disc is worth ten thousand naturae coins. I never imagined the master could achieve this, controlling even the elusive mysteries of time within an array disc. Its intricacy far exceeded our expectations. But for many, this disc is a must-have. When the Skyway Merchant Association learned that we put this item up for auction, I could already picture Fatball’s face when he grits his teeth, determined to get it and uncover its secrets. The Chrono Croc lineage is probably also extremely interested in it. Through this auction, I aim to boost our association's overall sales by thirty percent."

The elderly man chuckled. "Young Master, you are wise. But what if they don’t follow?"

Xu Ziran replied, "If we must take it back ourselves, it’s still fine. Quality speaks for itself. The next time we put it up for auction, the starting bid will be what we paid today. Didn’t the master say this piece was created through painstaking effort and couldn’t be reproduced? He needs a rest period. There's room to maneuver as long as it’s a unique item. Raise the bid to twenty-five."

At this point, the bidding had become increasingly fierce.

At that point, the true strength of the bidders participating became increasingly apparent. Only those with truly deep pockets had the right to keep participating in the auction.

Twenty-five thousand naturae coins. Tang San felt his heart race when he saw this price. Even after deducting the Ancestral Court’s fees and the cost of the blood, the money they would receive was still immense.

According to the rules, the Ancestral Court would take ten percent as a handling fee. In addition, two thousand coins were to be paid to the Aetherhorn Merhant Association for the blood. With that, they would still be left with over twenty thousand naturae coins! Twenty thousand naturae coins was nearly enough to build a small city!

Zhang Haoxuan hadn’t transmitted any further messages, perhaps because he was too stunned to speak.

Even more terrifying was that the bidding price continued to climb.

"Twenty-six thousand naturae coins, going once, can I have twenty-seven? Thank you, twenty-seven thousand naturae coins going once!"

The price kept rising, reaching a point that could only be described as stupefying.

Could such an array disc be worth this much?

Thinking back to fighting life-and-death battles in the Great Beast Fighting Arena in Kali City, each match only earned them a few dozen naturae coins! It seemed money was easier to make in the Ancestral Court.

But then again, the fees for climbing the Sacred Mountains of the emperors were collected daily, and they were flush with cash. For the truly great aristocrats, tens of thousands of naturae coins were nothing.

When the value reached thirty thousand naturae coins, it finally paused.

"Thirty-one thousand naturae coins!" When this bid appeared, the entire hall fell silent.

The bidder was Xu Ziran from Room 116.

"The price is too high, Young Master. No one’s responding," the elderly man said, with sweat faintly appearing on his forehead.

Xu Ziran, however, remained calm, smiling as if he wasn’t in any rush.

"Thirty-one thousand naturae coins once, thirty-one thousand naturae coins twice, is there any higher bid? Remember, this is an absolutely unique item! Alright, thirty-one thousand naturae coins three ti—" Just as the Blue Fox clan auctioneer reached this point, suddenly, another light flashed.

"Thirty-two thousand naturae coins! Alright, Room 119 offers thirty-two thousand naturae coins!"

Xu Ziran grinned, and the elderly man beside him looked relieved. Finally, someone else had bid.

"Thirty-three thousand naturae coins." Immediately, someone else bid again, this time from Room 221.

Xu Ziran’s smile deepened, "Let them fight for it. We’ll just watch. This price is good enough. It’ll hurt them for a while."

The elderly man whispered, "If it falls into the hands of the Skyway Merchant Association, will there be any trouble?"

Xu Ziran replied, "They’ll speculate for sure, but only we and my father know the true origin of the disc. As long as we offer the array master enough benefits and bind him firmly to our cause, we don’t need to worry about anything else. With such significant earnings from this, don’t you think he’ll appreciate our sincerity? When we return, prepare ten types of blood, at least third-tier or higher. Send them to the master. This is our research funding for him. For future bloodline array discs, we’ll split the profits seventy-thirty. We only need thirty percent."